Mikoyan MiG-31 (Foxhound)

History of Mikoyan MiG-31 (Foxhound)

The MiG-31 "Foxhound" was developed as an offshoot of the record-breaking MiG-25 "Foxbat". Foxbat is a fast plane, but it's not agile.

It's an airframe built to intercept airborne threats, using its own powerful engines, equally powerful radar systems and long-range missiles to reach high altitudes, cover distances quickly, and carry a powerful payload to attack targets. However, the MiG-25 lacks adequate control at low altitudes and is entirely a high-altitude weapon, relying on ground-based radar for interception.

Despite being similar in appearance to the MiG-25, the MiG-31 was essentially an all-new aircraft with more powerful engines, low-altitude lethality and a second crew member in the rear cockpit to manage an expanded radar suite. Despite its 1980s pedigree, the Cold War-era MiG-31 Foxhound is still in service today, and at around 61.7 tons, it still retains its title as the heaviest combat interceptor in the world.

The original MiG-25 "Foxbat" was developed in response to the ongoing US North American XB-70 Valkyrie jet strategic bomber program. While the XB-70 was eventually phased out due to rising program costs and the advent of ICBM technology, the MiG-25 development was advanced enough that production of the new interceptor was a certainty. When it joined the active Soviet front-line forces, the Foxbat had already proven itself to be a record-breaking airframe, capable of speeds up to Mach 3.0, armed with powerful radar and the largest air-to-air missile ever built, a military aircraft.

This makes the MiG-25 a complete and ultimately lethal interceptor to watch in the West. The MiG-25 appeared in Soviet history at a time when its air defense network was aging and the West was developing more technologically advanced weapons.

Foxbat helped fill in several missing elements of the Soviet air defense umbrella and took a major step toward improving the protection of all aspects of Soviet airspace. Important follow-up developments became the Beriev A-50 "Mainstay" and Antonov An-74 "Madcap" early warning aircraft platforms, which coincided with the initial stages of the program to eventually produce the outstanding Mikoyan MiG-29 "Fulcrum" and Sukhoi Su-27. "Flanker" multirole fighter.

However, the latter did not come into use until the mid-1980s. At the same time, existing platforms are equipped with more powerful interceptor radars and more powerful weapons.

To increase the capabilities of the existing MiG-25 family, Mikoyan set out to develop a newer, longer-range interceptor that could operate in the same direction without the need for ground-based radar. While Foxbat pushed the entire mission workload to a single pilot, the new plane will split the workload between the pilot and a dedicated radar system officer sitting in the back of the second cockpit.

Beginning with the Ye-155M research prototype, Mikoyan set out to address the speed and range limitations of their MiG-25. Although the MiG-25 is a Mach 3 capable airframe, it can only reach and sustain such speeds for short periods of time, and the engines are prone to "burn out" during prolonged periods of activity. Engine life was short - rated at around 150 hours each - and they proved to be both powerful and fuel-hungry, which also limited the operating range.

As a result, Foxbat pilots were instructed to operate the engine at speeds close to Mach 2.8, and Foxbat's routine operation was generally reduced overall. In fact, this is a two-seat Foxbat trainer with more flight time than any of its single-seat interceptor/reconnaissance sisters.

Furthermore, the Foxbat, built purely for performance, exhibited inherently poor handling and lack of maneuverability at low altitudes - compared to Western agile offerings, it was not and was never designed to be a "true" fighter.

A pair of Ye-155M prototypes were selected for a "two-step" process to achieve a usable final product. First, the airframe will be used to test the new R-15BF-2-300 family of engines, which promise higher performance - up to 7,250 pounds more thrust than the production MiG-25 - resulting in improved speed and operating altitude performance Specifications. Second, the airframe will be redesigned to compensate for the increase in higher operating temperatures that naturally exist in the high-speed, high-altitude flight envelope.

However, the second development phase had to be abandoned as the engine tests exceeded the planned development time.

While the expected program objectives were never fully achieved, two experimental Ye-155M airframes - now designated Ye-155MP - were converted as test airframes and modified to evaluate the new 34,170 lb thrust rating Soloviev D-30F6 turbojet. To facilitate high-speed flight at all altitudes, the Ye-155MP's fuselage structure has been modified to consist of 50% nickel steel, 33% aluminum alloy, and 16% titanium (the MiG-25 has a composition of 80%, 11% and 9%). In fact, the Ye-155MP was originally intended to enter service as another variant of the MiG-25 series (which would become the MiG-25MP).

The first flight was recorded on September 16, 1975. Its new radar equipment is being developed in parallel, allowing the aircraft's "eyes" to look down on the plane's relative position, capable of tracking up to 10 targets from 124 miles away.

Radar makes it possible to counter four threats simultaneously.

Prototype trials followed, during which the Mikoyan design team had to address several issues. The engine air intakes have been modified from the MiG-25 to absorb the complex and fuel-guzzling engine pairings buried deep in the boxy fuselage. The air brake was moved from the MiG-25 "shoulder" position under the air intake duct of the fuselage. The limited range was solved by including an aerial refueling probe (the Soviet Union was not as keen on adopting aerial refueling practices as the West).

A fuel probe mounted on the port side of the fuselage, although not part of the earlier MiG-31, became standard equipment on later production models.

The MiG-31 began mass production in 1979 at the Soviet Gorky plant. With the capabilities of the MiG-31 now fully realized by Soviet authorities, the system was rapidly deployed into key operational areas as the ultimate air deterrent.

Foxhound crews are now trained in complex two-person response methods, intercept handling and in-flight refueling procedures. The MiG-31 officially arrived, with approximately 500 production prototypes eventually delivered.

In the early 1970s, the original MiG-25 "Foxbat" was a little-known beast in the West - rarely photographed, and little was known about its true capabilities. Early intelligence estimates assumed it was a fast and maneuverable fighter, eventually forcing the United States to develop the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle air superiority platform.

In hindsight, however, Western assumptions about the MiG-25 were largely incomplete. All thoughts about the MiG-25 finally surfaced in September 1976 when Soviet pilot Viktor Belenko defected to the West through northern Japan.

US authorities waited anxiously on the ground and quickly took over the MiG-25 and began rigorous testing of Mikoyan products. Assessments provide the system's true inherent strengths and weaknesses and level the psychological playing field to some extent.

Of particular note, however, is the information that Belenko brings. The Soviet Air Force soon expects to deliver a new aircraft similar in scope and design to the MiG-25, but with a fuselage reinforced for low-altitude supersonic flight. He described an aircraft with more powerful engines, an all-new avionics suite and multiple mounting points to mount new long-range air-to-air missiles.

Apparently, this aircraft caught the attention of the West. Also, unlike the MiG-25, the new variant will be equipped with a GSh-6-23 series 23mm internal cannon for close range work and a powerful new interceptor radar independent of ground control. Others said the plane had cruise missile counter-attack capability, adding to concerns among Western members.

However, some were quick to note the convenient source of the information and dismissed the claim as an exaggeration.

However, the aircraft was identified as a branch of the MiG-25 "Foxbat", which was eventually identified as the "MiG-31". Spy satellites eventually caught a glimpse of the MiG-31 flying at 20,000 feet and attacking and destroying targets 12 miles away and below 200 feet. A later test showed that the MiG-31 attacked and destroyed a distant aerial drone at an altitude of 55,000 feet, which itself was at an altitude of about 70,000 feet. The capabilities of the MiG-31 were no longer in doubt, and in 1982 NATO gave the MiG-31 the codename Foxhound.

In 1985, Norwegian Air Force personnel began regularly intercepting and photographing the new Soviet aircraft, further confirming its existence as nothing more than a MiG-25 variant.

However, little details about the MiG-31 in the early years were available. One source said at least one MiG-31 variant has been identified as a single-seat airframe although there has never been a single-seat MiG-31.

US Assistant Secretary of State Donald Latham is convinced that the MiG-31 now outperforms the venerable F-15 or any other modern American fighter jet in this regard. Such was the sometimes sad state of Western "intelligence services" during the Cold War.

Although they have arrived, it is only a matter of time before the limitations of the MiG-31 are revealed. The design team, led by Edward Kostrubskii, began work on improving the form as early as 1978 and received the MiG-31M designation (internally "Product 5"). Likewise, there will be aerodynamic modifications to the airframe and modifications to the avionics package. The fuselage spine has been redrawn and contoured to accommodate more fuel and new avionics components. Extensions have been added to the leading edge of the wing to address handling issues.

At the request of the test pilots, an angle of attack indicator (AoA) was installed, with its probe visible on the nose side. The wingtip ECM pods are clearly visible. The autopilot is designed to aid the stability and handling of the hydraulically assisted flight control system.

The rear cockpit now accepts a tricolor CRT multifunction display and GPS functionality, the latter in the form of GLONASS - "GLObal'naya NAvigatsionnaya Sputnikovaya Sistema") assisting the crew during the flight. A revised windshield improves visibility outside the cockpit. Payload strength has also been increased to a "multi-role" capability, with increased equipment to accommodate "fire and forget" AA-12 "Adder" medium-range air-to-air radar-guided missiles, as well as air-to-ground missiles and anti-radiation missiles from Soviet stockpiles AS-17 "Krypton".

The R-37 (AA-13 "Arrow") was further developed as a replacement for the long-range R-33 (AA-9 "Amos") missile, increasing the target acquisition range from 62 miles to an impressive 93 miles. The 23mm gun pod was removed, preventing a close-quarters fight that the MiG-31 would likely never have. With the advent of more powerful digital processors, the onboard computers were upgraded and data links were installed to share mission information between the two aircraft.

The MiG-31M went through a long period of development, and on August 9, 1991, a prototype was reported to have been lost in flight - fortunately, the two crew members used ejection seats.

News of a new MiG-31 variant began to appear in Western reports as early as 1990, and after a public exhibition in Minsk-Maschulische in 1992, photography made this The new mounts come to life. The aircraft was designated "MiG-31B".

The MiG-31B was fitted with a new Phaztron radar after news broke that one of the systems engineers had sold its critical operational data to the CIA. Soviet engineer Adolph Tolkachev was executed as a true Soviet-style traitor, and a new Phaztron radar variant was quickly deployed to make up for the lost technology.

The earlier MiG-31 platform was subsequently upgraded to the new designation "MiG-31BS".

Other well-known variants of the Foxhound family include the MiG-31D "anti-satellite" missile delivery vehicle, the MiG-31A satellite launch platform, the MiG-31E/FE low-level export variant, and the MiG-31F multipurpose-role strike platform. Another program produced the MiG-31BM Multipurpose Defense Suppression model, while adopting an upgrade program to further upgrade all existing MiG-31s ??to the standard of the "MiG-31BM" model equipped with the new radar and bringing cockpit displays.